Iran must ‘never have nuclear weapons’: Merz

PARIS: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday that Iran must “never have nuclear weapons”, his government spokesman said, as Israel continued a campaign of massive strikes targeting Tehran’s nuclear programme.

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The comment came in a conversation with the sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tarik al Said, in which both leaders agreed on the need to “prevent the conflict from spreading”, German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement.

THREAT TO ISRAEL AND EUROPE

Similarly, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Iranian nuclear programme is a threat for the security of Israel and of Europe, and diplomcy is the only way to avoid an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

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“The Iranian nuclear programme is an existentiel threat for the security of Israel and beyond the security of Europe. We always said the best way to prevent that threat, to contain it, remains diplomacy,” Barrot told RTL radio.

Earlier in the day, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany, France and Britain are ready to hold immediate talks with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear programme in an effort to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.